Читать книгу Catholicism For Dummies - Rev. Kenneth Brighenti - Страница 106

Best known throughout the world and among more than 1 billion Catholics as the pope, the bishop of Rome is the supreme and visible head of the Catholic Church. The word pope is actually an English translation of the Italian il Papa, meaning “father,” which leads you to another title for the pope — Holy Father. Just as a Catholic priest is called “Father” in a spiritual sense, the pope is called “Holy Father” by Catholics all over the world.

He has a slew of other titles, too: Successor of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ, Primate of Italy, Supreme Pontiff, Roman Pontiff, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, and Head of the College of Bishops. The most common and best-known titles, however, are pope, Holy Father, and Roman Pontiff.

Think you’re under pressure at work? The pope has two big jobs: He’s the bishop of Rome (see the later section “Bishops and archbishops” for more about bishops) and the leader of the entire Catholic Church. The pope has a ceremonial role as head of state of the sovereign nation of Vatican City.